Jimmy Valiant

At 81 years old, Jimmy Valiant has this physical status:

James Harold Fanning (born August 6, 1942) is a professional wrestler and author best known as Jimmy Valiant.

Early life

Fanning was born in Tullahoma as the youngest of five children of James and Effie Fanning. Louise, Christine, Charlena, and Patrica were among his four sisters' names in the spider web tattoo on his upper arm.

Personal life

Fanning married Clara, with whom he raised three children: Robin, Rhonda, and Dana. Todd has his first son Todd with Monika. He has his youngest son Handsome, who lives in Felicia. He is now married to Angela. He has six grandchildren: Lonna, Jenae, Beau, Chassie, Clarissa, and Delilah.

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Professional wrestling career

"Big Jim Vallen" was the first wrestling appearance in 1964. As "Handsome Jimmy Valiant" in the 1970s, he formed a team with Johnny Valiant who would reigne the tag team scene for a long time as WWWF Tag Team champions. They were supervised by Bobby Heenan in the later 1960s during the WWA.

Valiant was a child star in 1971, but later switched to heel, but eventually returned to heel. He competed against champion Pedro Morales in secondary arenas, such as Philadelphia, and feuded with short-term tag partner Chief Jay Strongbow. Jimmy and his kayfabe brother Johnny wore the tag belts from 1974 to 1975, with Chief Jay Strongbow and Bruno Sammartino winning 2 out of three tries, but the belts didn't change hands; rather, the belts didn't change hands).

Valiant was a key figure in the Memphis, Tennessee wrestling scene from the 1970s to the early 1980s. He feuded with Jerry Lawler on a regular basis and joined Bill Dundee to dominate the tag team matches of the time. He also recorded "The Ballad of Handsome Jimmy," which was used in wrestling arenas as his entry music and became a mainstay on several Memphis radio stations for a few years. Despite the Memphis affiliate desperately trying to keep him in Memphis full time, and even offering to buy him a house in Memphis, Valiant decided not to move forward after winning the AWA Southern Heavyweight championship for almost a year. In the late 1970s, Valiant spent a brief period of time in Jim Crockett Promotions, where the heel "King James Valiant" was also managed by Lord Alfred Hayes.

Jimmy returned to the WWF in 1979 with Johnny occasionally wrestling and occasionally coaching, as well as transitioning into a manager position. Johnny and Jerry Valiant were battling for the tag belts, so he had him on his side.

Valiant returned as "Boogie Woogie Man" Jimmy Valiant in the early 1980s as a babyface to NWA's Jim Crockett Promotions as "Boogie Woogie Man" Jimmy Valiant, a word that referred to his followers as "the Street People." By The Manhattan Transfer, he was on the theme "Boy From New York City." When Jim Crockett Promotions, he would often be seen wearing a black bandit-style mask and say himself "Charlie Brown from Outta Town." This happened often when Valiant was (in kayfabe) barred from wrestling. Despite being named "Brown" with Valiant's legendary beard, Charlie Brown was portrayed as someone other than Valiant.

Paul Jones and The Assassins attacked Valiant in January 1984. Jones was tied to the wrestling ring wires in order to remove Jones' beard from his head. In Greensboro, North Carolina, there was a 'Boogie Man Jam '84', a frenzied supershow. Dusty Rhodes was in Vain's corner and tied by a rope to Paul Jones during this match. Valiant defeated Assassin II, who was unveiled and revealed as Hercules Hernandez. From 1984 to late 1986, he feuded a lot with Paul Jones and his army of wrestlers. The Barbarian, Baron von Raschke, Teijo Khan, and The Assassins were among the fighters in this army. Valiant received support from Héctor Guerrero and Manny Fernandez throughout his three-year feud. Although Jimmy Valiant would lose a Loser Leaves Town Tuxedo Street Fight to Paul Jones in Greensboro, North Carolina, the feud with many from the Paul Jones family raged, including Abdullah The Butcher. Bull Manny Fernandez, a young Valiant and Ragin' Bull, established a team called B and B Connection ("Boogie Woogie" and "Bull" in 1985.

Paul Jones wore a military style in his long fought with Valiant, and dubbed his army staff during The Great American Bash 1986 summer shows. Valiant would defeat Shaska Whatley in a hair vs. hair contest, but outside help, we lost a hair vs. hair match to Paul Jones just weeks later. The Ragin Bull Manny Fernandez, Valiant's best friend, accepted Jones' money and turned on Valiant, sparking a feud between the two teams. At this time, Paul Jones' army was reduced to his newly acquired tag team of Ragin Bull and Rick Rude. Valiant and Paul Jones climaxed in Starrcade 1986, with Valiant bringing up the hair of his vain Big Mama against Paul Jones' hair in a No DQ Battle, which Valiant won, although Valiant was put in a cage above the ring).

He worked with Hector Guerrero (then masked as Laser Tron) and Bugsy McGraw in the late 1980s, and The New Breed feuded with The New Breed. When Jim Crockett Promotions became WCW, Valiant left and returned to Memphis to compete in the USWA. Jerry Lawler won the USWA Unified World Heavyweight Championship twice in 1990, but he lost it to him both times.

On February 8, 2020, he teamed with Buster Jackson to defeat Colt Cabana and CPA in Rahway, New Jersey.

He now spends his time with his wife Angela and the training wrestlers at Boogie's Wrestling Camp, which is located in Shawsville, Virginia. Jimmy is currently wrestling under the ACW Banner (American Championship Wrestling) in the Roanoke Virginia area. He has also competed against Beau and Misty James and Scotty Ace in ASW Wrestling and New OCW in Ashland, KY, with Matty B and Violet Rayne against Beau and Misty James and Scotty Morton.

Valiant remains in the wrestling industry today, with some of his students appearing at independent shows signing autographs, while his students appear in a handful of games. Through his official Weekly website, he keeps up with followers.

Valiant lent his name to a foreword for a horror book titled "Only the Beginning" in recent history. It's a book set in the 1980s about a girl's life after high school. Although the book is not wrestling related, author Jason Strecker is a personal friend of Valiant's, and in the forward Valiant refers to his friendship with the author, as well as the book's description of being of solid character and doing positive things for others. Nikolai Volkoff's book also has a foreword.

The Valiant come out of retirement after winning at 6 man tag team match at the Patriotic Wrestling Federation in York, South Carolina, on May 14, 2022.

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